Gu Ran began absorbing the soul ring. Tian Lin sat beside him and said, "Gu Ran, absorbing a soul ring beyond your level will be extremely painful. You must persevere, no matter what. You cannot pass out, or you might never wake up again."
He was ready at any moment. If Gu Ran showed signs of not being able to endure, Tian Lin would ignore the rule about not revealing dual martial souls. While the Holy Spirit Pearl was a secret, it was nothing compared to Gu Ran's life.
Since Gu Ran had called him "boss," he felt it was his responsibility to live up to that title.
Fortunately, Gu Ran had practiced the body-strengthening techniques that Tian Lin had taught him and had also consumed the immortal herb Iron Armor Peony, making him incredibly resilient.
The soul ring, just over 2000 years old, shouldn't be beyond his capacity to endure.
However, the soul ring of the Death Tyrannosaurus was extraordinarily violent. Fully assimilating it would likely take a considerable amount of time.
"Hmm, there seems to be something beneath the body of the Death Tyrannosaurus," Ye Lingling suddenly said, pointing at the corpse.
Following her direction, they saw that the abdomen of the corpse was emitting a faint black glow.
"Could it be?" Tian Lin couldn't help but stand up. Using his magic sword, he sliced open the abdomen of the Death Tyrannosaurus. Inside, a glowing, human-like spine appeared.
Qin Ming couldn't contain his excitement. "It's a soul bone! And not just any soul bone—it's the rarest kind, a torso bone!"
The stronger the soul beast, the higher the chance of producing a soul bone. This was indeed true. No one expected the Death Tyrannosaurus to leave them such a treasure.
Among all soul bones, the torso bone was the rarest and far more valuable than others. Even the lowest-quality torso bone could fetch an astronomical price on the market, and it was often a priceless item.
Moreover, given the immense power of the Death Tyrannosaurus, how could its soul bone be anything but extraordinary? Even if it were only a thousand-year soul bone, it wouldn't be inferior to most ten-thousand-year ones.
With excitement, Qin Ming retrieved the soul bone. "Gu Ran has struck it rich this time. Once he finishes absorbing the soul ring, we'll give him this soul bone, too."
Everyone nodded in agreement. It was common knowledge that when the soul ring and soul bone of the same soul beast were absorbed by the same person, the effects were maximized. None of them coveted this precious soul bone.
It was fortunate that Qin Ming was a man of great character. If it had been someone like the teacher from Canghui Academy, he would've immediately claimed the soul bone for himself. If his students objected, he wouldn't hesitate to kill them all.
...
A day passed in the blink of an eye. Gu Ran had been absorbing the soul ring for an entire day. His aura had already stabilized the previous night, signaling that he had passed the most dangerous phase.
The remaining time was spent stabilizing his soul power. However, the Death Tyrannosaurus's lingering resentment was deep, costing him considerable energy to overcome.
"Phew! Finally done." By the morning of the second day, Gu Ran had fully absorbed the soul ring and opened his eyes.
"Impressive. You endured a two-thousand-year soul ring," said Oslo, patting Gu Ran on the shoulder. "So, tell us—what soul skill did you gain from this level-surpassing soul ring?"
"It's nothing too powerful," Gu Ran replied with an embarrassed smile. "It's just the Death Aura skill that the Death Tyrannosaurus used yesterday. It can separate a person's soul from their body."
"That's not strong? When did you learn to be so humble?" Tian Lin said, exasperated.
Gu Ran's martial soul naturally had attributes of death, capable of attacking the soul. Pairing that with Death Aura, which could separate souls from bodies, made for a terrifying combination. As evidenced earlier, even the Death Tyrannosaurus, without its physical body, was killed by Gu Ran in one strike. Unless someone specialized in soul defense, having their soul forcibly separated was practically a death sentence.
"By the way, take this too. It's the torso bone from the Death Tyrannosaurus," Tian Lin said, handing him the soul bone.
Gu Ran hesitated and pushed it back. "No, boss, I can't accept this. It's too precious. You all worked together to kill the Death Tyrannosaurus. I already have the soul ring, and that's more than enough. Someone else should take the soul bone—like you, Qin Teacher, Tianheng, or the Shi brothers. All of you are well-suited for it."
"I don't want it," Qin Ming immediately declined. "Even though this is a strength-type soul bone, its death attribute isn't compatible with me."
"How about Tianheng? The soul bone's dragon attribute matches his martial soul, doesn't it?" Gu Ran continued to defer.
At this point, Tian Lin lost patience and smacked him hard on the head. "I told you to take it, so just take it! Why waste time arguing? Tianheng is a direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—he's not short on soul bones. Besides, absorbing both the soul ring and soul bone of the same beast will give you a massive boost in strength. Don't you know that?"
Sometimes, reasoning didn't work—force was the only answer.
"Understood, boss." Gu Ran no longer protested. To be honest, he was deeply tempted by the soul bone. It was only his sense of propriety that held him back earlier.
Absorbing a soul bone was much easier than absorbing a soul ring. For Gu Ran, who had already obtained the soul ring of the Death Tyrannosaurus, the compatibility was off the charts. In less than an hour, he had fully integrated the torso bone.
Tian Lin walked over and said, "That was fast. This soul bone was indeed a perfect match for you."
"Yes, boss. This soul bone's skill is incredibly powerful. It's called Tyrant Dragon Body. For a short time, it gives me the physical and spiritual defense of the Death Tyrannosaurus. With it, my soul power has already reached the peak of level 37. I think the Iron Armor Peony you gave me boosted my level by six, and absorbing the soul ring and soul bone added another three levels," Gu Ran said excitedly. He hadn't expected such incredible progress in just a few days, all thanks to Tian Lin.
Years later, when someone asked the now-Titled Douluo Gu Ran about the best decision he ever made in his life, his answer would be: recognizing Tian Lin as his boss.
"Very good. This makes you worthy of being the future Guardian Douluo of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I'm sure Grandpa Bone would be thrilled to see your current strength," Tian Lin said with satisfaction.
"Damn it! Gu Ran used to be the weakest among us, but now he has the Death Aura skill, a powerful attack move, along such an incredible defense skill. Not to mention his level is so high. I don't think even our captain could beat him now," Oslo said bitterly. With Gu Ran's advancement, it seemed like he had become the weakest in the group.
Though Tian Lin's level was lower than his, Oslo knew he didn't stand a chance against a monster like Tian Lin.
"Enough. Gu Ran is part of our Emperor Team. The stronger he gets, the better it is for all of us," said Dugu Yan. The others agreed wholeheartedly. They were a team, after all, and trusted each other with their lives.
Oslo wasn't truly jealous—just a little envious.
Now that everyone had hunted their ideal soul beasts, and Gu Ran had even obtained a soul bone, the trip was a great success.
With their tasks complete, the group quickly left the Star Dou Forest and made their way toward the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. The Titled Douluo ceremony was imminent, and they couldn't afford to miss this grand event.